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UNH Professors Available to Comment on Recent Warm Weather and Global Change

MEDIA ADVISORY:

DURHAM, N.H. -- The Institute for
the Study of Earth, Oceans, and
Space (EOS) at the University of
New Hampshire houses the Climate
Change Research Center and several
prominent climate scientists, as well
as the New Hampshire State
Climatologist. The New England
Regional Assessment report was
coordinated and recently released by
EOS as part of a national assessment
of potential climate change impacts
on different regions of the country.

Barry Keim is an associate professor
of geography and the New Hampshire State Climatologist. As State Climatologist,
one of his primary tasks is to collect and archive high quality climate data for New
Hampshire and then make these data available to the general public. He is also
charged with educating the public on issues regarding the weather and climate, and he
does this through the media and through presentations. Keim's primary focus is on
extreme weather events in a changing climate, although he also has expertise in the
impacts of climate and the climate-society interaction.

Says Keim: "On December 1 and 5, we broke Durham's (NH) all-time
temperature record for those days. This fall has been the driest on record for
Durham, looking at records that go back to 1895. This fall has been the second
driest for the entire state. You can't say if the recent warm weather is due to global
climate change. There is no single event that can tell you much about climate
change.

"The 90's have been an unusual decade; the climate has been warmer than any
prior decade. Without a doubt, we are changing the atmospheric chemistry.
However, the climate system is so complex and made up of feedback mechanisms
that we don't understand very well. We are seeing warm temperatures right now
because we are on the back side of a high pressure complex that is driving
southern air into the area. There's brutally cold air over the Great Lakes and the
Rockies right now, so if you averaged the temperatures out for the entire country, it
would probably be near normal."

Predictions of Global Climate Change and its Consequences
George Hurtt, (603) 862-3136

George Hurtt, an assistant professor at EOS, combines mathematics and data to
develop models for understanding and predicting the structure and dynamics of
ecosystems. He models the carbon cycle and the effects of land use on climate, as
well as the response of ecosystems to climate change. He is a co-author of the New
England Regional Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability
and Change. He recently briefed the U.S. Congress on the state of scientific
understanding regarding potential climate change in New England.

Says Hurtt: "There is a distinction between weather and climate that is important
to keep in mind. Climate is the average of weather. Most scientists believe that the
average weather is going to change, and the world will get warmer on average if
greenhouse gases continue to rise."

Historical Climate Records
Cameron Wake, 603-862-2329

Cameron Wake, a research assistant professor at EOS, researches the development of
climate records through the recovery and analysis of ice cores. Over the past decade,
he has been involved in research expeditions to Nepal, China, Pakistan, the Canadian
Arctic, Greenland and Antarctica. He is currently investigating the impact of
anthropogenic emissions on climate in New England through the AIRMAP project,
as well as investigating the interactions of climate change and society's response.

Says Wake: "Climate is always changing, always has, always will. What is
different now is that humans have become a major player in climate change,
primarily through burning fossil fuels. We can't ascribe a warm week or month to
human-caused climate change. However, the warm years that we've seen at the
end of the 90's, and now this year, are certainly consistent with a world warmed
by increased greenhouse gas due to human activities."